Foldable toys

ABSTRACT

A foldable toy for simulating full size structures such as furniture and houses. The device is formed of a suitable plastic in a unitary planar configuration and provided with integral hinge or fold lines and integral connecting or joining members thus enabling the toy to be continuously folded into its intended folded configuration and unfolded back into its planar configuration without damage to the fold lines and connecting or joining members.

United States Patent Mills 1 51 July 11, 1972 541 FOLDABLE TOYS 2,619,768 12/1952 2,632,498 3/ I953 [72] inventor. Michael Colin Mills, Mlddlesex, NJ. 2.988.844 6/196] [73} Assignee: Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif. 3,363,36l 1/1968 [22] Filed: 1969 Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene [2 l PP 365,112 Assistant Examiner-D. L. Weinhold Attorney-Seymour A. Scholnick 52 us. c1 ..46/l5 51 1111.01. [57] ABSTRACT [58] Field olSeareh ..46/l5, 17; 220/62, 7 A foidable my f simulaing f size structures such as fumi ture and houses. The device is formed of a suitable plastic in a [561 Ram CM unitary planar configuration and provided with integral hinge UNITED STATES PATENTS or fold lines and integral connecting or joining members thus enabling the toy to be continuously folded into its intended 3,083,856 4/1963 Aupleton ..220/76 X r w fi ti and nf ld d back its u 560,957 5/1896 wlllon ..46/l5 figuration wilhqut damage to the fold lines and connecting or 1,854,663 4/1932 Nebel ...46/15 2,l4l,399 12/1938 Luhn ..46/1S ICIIIImIlIIh'nWIngHgureS PATENTEDJUL 1 1 I972 SHEET 2 BF 2 m/f. LL

NYE/V702 M/C-HAEL C. MILLS ATTORNEY FOLDABLE rors BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The background of the invention will be set forth in two parts.

I. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to toy doll furniture and more particularly. to toy furniture which is assembled from a flat sheet by folding the various sections thereof and interlocking the folded sections together.

2. Description of the Prior Art For many years children have enjoyed cutting out doll fumiture from the back of cereal boxes and assembling and playing with same. In addition, this type of furniture has also been available pre-die cut so that a child can conveniently punch out the object from a sheet of paper stock and assemble same by folding and bending sections and connecting the appropriate sections together by means of the tabs or ears and corresponding slots provided therefor. While toy furniture of this type is economical to produce and purchase, it is not readily susceptible to repeated assembly and disassembly in that the paper at the bends, folds, and tabs tend to break down with continued use resulting in a tearing of the paper stock.

While toy furniture of this type has also been made from metal, it cannot be readily bent or folded by a child so it must either be pre-bent and assembled by the manufacturer or made in a number of pieces. In addition, the tabs or ears used to assemble toy metal furniture tend to fatigue and break off upon repeated bending.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is the general aim of the present invention to provide new and improved toy doll furniture of the aforementioned type which can be manufactured and sold in a unitary lanar form and yet be readily assembled and disassembled by a child without wearing out the fold lines or the connecting tabs and/or cars.

It is another object of the invention to provide toy furniture of the type disclosed which is relatively low in coat and considerably more durable than that which has heretofor been available.

Still another object of the instant invention is to provide toy furniture of the type described which is formed of a synthetic plastic material with integral color, surface texture and simu lating hardware thereby eliminating the necessity of a printing operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view partially in section of a toy doll bed embodying the features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the toy doll bed depicted in FIG. I but here showing the bed in its unassembled form;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view partially in section showing an assembled end portion of the toy doll bed of FIG. I in detail;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view partially in section showing an assembled end and headboard portion of the toy doll bed of FIG. I in detail;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a toy doll dresser embodying the features of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the toy doll dresser of FIG. 5 but here shown in a partially assembled condition;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the toy doll dresser of FIG. 5 here showing a comer portion thereof in detail;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view partially in section of a toy doll chair embodying the features of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view partially in section of the doll chair of FIG. 9 but here showing the chair in its unassembled form.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT While the present invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions illustrative embodiments are shown in the drawing and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed. but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternative constructions falling within ghe spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 5 and 9, three exemplary pieces of toy furniture are depicted. In FIG. 1, a bed generally indicated at 10, is illustrated, the bed including a headboard II. a footboard 12, a simulated mattress l4, and sideboards l5. In FIG. 5, a dresser generally indicated at 20 is shown which includes sides 21, a top 22, a mirror and back 23, a front 24 with hinged doors 25 and a bottom 26. A chair generally indicated at 50 is shown in FIG. 9 and includes sides 51, a seat 52, a front 53 and a back 55.

In accordance with one of the important aspects of the present invention, one piece planar toy doll furniture is provided which can be repeatedly folded into an assembled form and disassembled into its planar form without wearing out or breaking down the fold lines and the connecting ears and tabs. This is accomplished by forming the exemplary furniture of the instant invention as a unitary planar structure of a synthetic material which is capable of repetitive bending without peripherally breaking down at the area of the bend. Examples of such materials are polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polytetrafluoroethylene, polypropylene and other examples of a synthetic organic thermoplastic material.

In order to insure that the fold lines of the furniture may be repetitively bent without failure, the fold lines are formed with a reduced cross-section, necked down or notched area at the fold line or axis of desired flexibility. This type of fold or hinge arrangement has become commonly known in the art by names such as unitary hinge, living hinge, self-hinge and integral hinge.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bed 10 is fonned in accordance with the instant invention with integral fold lines 18 formed in a reduced crosssection, necked down or notched area in accordance with the teaching of the instant invention. Referring to FIGS. 1-4, it is seen that the fold lines 18 are provided between the simulated mattress l4 and each of the sideboards IS, footboard I2 and headboard II. It is further seen that the reduced area of the fold lines 18 are oriented whereby the sideboards 15 and footboard I2 are intended to be folded downwardly with respect to the mattress 14 while the headboard is directed to be folded upwardly.

In accordance with another important aspect of the present invention, provision is made to fixedly maintain the various portions of the furniture in the proper assembled relationship to each other. This is accomplished in two basic ways in the instant invention. In a construction where two surfaces abut, a form of a tab and slat arrangement is employed. As best seen by referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the sideboards 15 of the bed 10 are provided with tabs 40 which are adapted to be inserted into slots 41 provided in the footboard 12 therefor. In order to maintain a fixed relationship between the sideboards l4 and the footboards 12 in the desired assembled configuration, the tabs 40 are provided with an integral lip member 40a which after being inserted into and through the slot 41 in the footboard 12, is adapted to catch on same to retain it in the assembled configuration. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the inherent flexibility of the instant structure would enable the tab 40 to be readily removed from and re -inserted into slot 41 even if the passage of the lip 400 through slot 41 consists of an interference or force fit.

In order to maintain two adjacent surfaces which do not abut the other surface in a fixed angular relationship to one another, the present invention makes use of the inherent flexibility of the afdrestated preferred materials used in practicing the instant invention. As best seen by referring to FIG. 4, in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2, a right angled projection 45 is integrally provided on one of two adjacent surfaces which are intended to be fixedly disposed in an angular relationship to one another. On the other adjacent surface, a cut out 46 is provided to receive the projection 45 in a manner whereby when the two said adjacent surfaces are folded and are about to obtain the proper angular orientation to each other, the extremity or forward ledge of the right angled projection 45 engages the edge 46a of the cut out 46 as an interference fit and literally snaps over this edge 46a and seats behind same. Furthermore, as a result of a tendency of the respective surfaces to return to a planar relationship due to an inherent memory or internal physical resistance in the material at the fold line, the two surfaces remain firmly disposed in the predetermined relationship to each other. As best seen in FIG. 2, a right angle projection 45 is provided on the headboard 11 to engage a cut out 46 in the mattress l4 and a similar projection 45 is also provided on each side of the mattress 14 to engage cut outs 46 in the sideboards adjacent thereto. Referring now to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the edge 46a of the cut outs 46 are formed either with a reduced thickness or with a bevel to facilitate snapping the forward ledge of projection 45 over same.

The bed 10 is shown in FIG. 2 in the configuration it is molded or formed in and how it likewise is contemplated that it be packaged and marketed. In order to assemble the bed, the headboard 11 is first bent upwardly with respect to the mattress 14 along their common fold line 18 until the forward ledge of projection 45 on the headboard snaps over its respective edge 460 on the mattress. The sideboards are then bent downwardly until they snap into place by virtue of the engagement of their cut outs 46 with their respective projections 45 rovided on the mattress l4 therefor. The footboard 12 is then bent downwardly until the tabs 40 on the sideboards 15 pass through the slqts 41 on the footboard and the lip 40a catches thereon. The bed I is now assembled in the configuration as depicted in FIG. 1 and provides a sturdy toy which may be disassembled in a generally reverse manner as heretofore described.

Turning next to FIGS. -8, the dresser 20 also embodying features of the present invention is depicted. In order to assemble this dresser from its planar configuration (not shown) the mirror and back 23 is bent upwardly from, and at a right angle to, the bottom 26 along their common fold line 18 as best seen in FIG. 6. Still referring to FIG. 6, the sides 21 are bent upwardly from, and at a right angle to, the bottom 26 along their respective common fold lines 18. Referring addi tionally to FIGS. 7 and 8, the top 22 is then bent upwardly, and at a right angle to, the front 22 along their common fold line 18. The front 25 is then bent upwardly and at right angles to the bottom 26 along their common fold line 18 and the tab 27 at the edge of top 22 is inserted into slot 28 provided in the back and mirror 23 therefor. In order to complete the assembly of the dresser 20, the sides 21 are snapped onto the back 23. This is accomplished by providing a tab 29 at each side of the back 23 which have enlarged ends 30 adapted to snap into a recess 31 provided in each side 21. In order to in sure a solid snap fit therebetween and a flush contact of mating parts, an additional lug 32 is integrally provided at each end of the recess 31 as best seen in FIG. 8, the lugs 32 provide an interference fit therebetween for the portion of tab 29 pro vided with enlarged ends 30. In order to impart additional realism to the dresser 20, the doors 25 have been made operable by providing a fold line 18 as the only connection between each said door and the front 24.

FIG. 10 illustrates the planar form of the chair 50 of FIG. 9. In order to assemble the chair 50, the back 55 is bent upwardly and the front 53 is bent downwardly both with respect to the seat 52 at their respective common fold lines 18 therewith. The sides 51 are then folded back at right angles with respect to front 53 and fixedly attached to the back 55 passing the tabs 56 on the back 55 through slots 5'7 on the sides 51 in a similar manner as tabs 40 engage slots 41 as previously described in connection with the bed 10.

It is also pointed out that while the embodiments depicted are toy furniture, the instant invention also could be utilized in providing other types of toy structures such as for example, doll houses, toy bridges and toy trestles without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A foldable toy comprising: a generally flat sheet of resilient material formed to define at least two panels in tegrally joined along a common fold line defined by a portion of said material of reduced thickness; one of said panels having a notch therein at said common fold line, one edge of said notch being spaced from and facing said fold line; the other panel having a protuberance extending upwardly from a face thereof adjacent said fold line, the height of said protuberance being slightly greater than the distance from said fold line to said one edge of said notch whereby said protuberance snaps past said one edge when said panels are folded about said fold line and thereby releasably holds said panels in angular rela tion.

a a a in s 

1. A foldable toy comprising: a generally flat sheet of resilient material formed to define at least two panels integrally joined along a common fold line defined by a portion of said material of reduced thickness; one of said panels having a notch therein at said common fold line, one edge of said notch being spaced from and facing said fold line; the other panel having a protuberance extending upwardly from a face thereof adjacent said fold line, the height of said protuberance being slightly greater than the distance from said fold line to said one edge of said notch whereby said protuberance snaps past said one edge when said panels are folded about said fold line and thereby releasably holds said panels in angular relation. 